


Love Potion

by Sweetferret



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Final Haikyuu Quest, Confessions, Fights, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Magical Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2020-09-06 04:30:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20285443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetferret/pseuds/Sweetferret
Summary: It started as an easy job. Gather materials, maybe catch something unusual, finish the potion. Normal work for Tobio.Who could predict he would catch unusual feelings for the most annoying regular at his shop?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I have been trying to finish for a long time, and its still missing half the story but here it is for now!  
As always, Ghostfox is the best beta.

The door closes behind the first client of the day, satisfied, as far a Tobio can see. He puts the coins in a metal box below the counter and continues restocking the shelves. Health potions and resistance sweets first, because those sold out quick, then new bandages on the counter for a last minute buy. 

He has his back to the door when it opens and a loud voice resounds inside, the steps of its owner coming closer to him. 

“Kageyamaaa,” the man whines, dragging out the last syllable as long as he can. 

Tobio doesn’t turn, deciding to rearrange the few herbs he has left in a basket near the top of the shelf. The new customer doesn’t seem affected by the lack of attention from the shop owner. 

“I have a huge favor to ask you, or I guess I should call it a commission.”

Tobio stops his movements, suddenly interested. Commissions are the best part of the shopkeepers’ world, and he always likes a good challenge. 

“Hm? And what would that be, Hinata?” He asks, turning around and crossing his arms. The ginger looks impatient, fingers drumming over the counter, and for the first time since Tobio met him, serious. 

“I need a… potion,” his eyes move down, “a love potion,” he says, in a quiet voice. “Can you do one?” 

Tobio stares at him, kind of disappointed. That’s a really common request among folks, but it’s not normal that _ Hinata _of all people would ask for one. He’s well known around this side of the mountains for being the soul of the party, charming people of all ages with his bright smile and courage (sometimes more of a curse than a blessing), and… kind of cute, though it’s true that’s not all that it takes to find a significant other. 

“You’re aware that a love potion is expensive, right?”

“Yes!” Hinata says, maybe too eager. “Um, will this be enough?” He takes a leather bag from his belt, opening it and letting its contents fall on the counter. 

Tobio starts counting the coins, a couple of gold ones, similar amount of silver, and a good assortment of copper and steel. He pays more attention to the precious stones, one probably a diamond the size of a lentil, and an emerald not much bigger than a bee. Upon further inspection he confirms this and shakes his head. 

“This won’t do.” Tobio pushes the money back to Hinata. 

“What?!” He frowns, leaning over the counter and looking up at him. “I was sure I had it all! That’s what you usually charge your customers for commissions like this.”

“Exactly. _ Usually. _” Tobio turns, going back to his work. 

“What makes this different?” 

He can hear the angry tone in Hinata words, another rare occurrence that mostly happens when they’re together. 

“A love potion is harder to do than most enchantments, and requires materials that need to be collected in the wild,” Tobio explains, taking a basket of empty bottles and walking to a table with other crafting materials, leaving it there. “That means I’ll spend more time working on it, because I prefer to collect them myself. So the shop has to close, and I charge based on how many days I leave it unattended.” 

He continues moving around, putting things in their places, making a mental list of the inventory and writing down what needs to be ordered. Meanwhile, Hinata stays silent, which is _ really _out of the ordinary but not completely unpleasant. 

After Tobio comes back from the storage room, carrying several bowls full of seeds and little fruits, Hinata is still there. 

“Can I do something to lower the price?” He asks, following Tobio around this time. 

“No.” Tobio doesn’t hesitate, and leaves the bowls on a table with boxes of vegetables and fruits. 

“Not even because I’m a regular at your shop?” He tries again, pouting. 

“No.” Tobio repeats. “You’re an annoying regular, so I would just raise the price.” 

A new customer enters, and he busies himself with them, hoping Hinata will leave if he’s not going to buy anything. 

He collects what the hooded traveler requests from the storage, uncommon materials not available in many places, and tells them the price after adding what they left on the counter while he was away. He’s not used to asking questions about his clients’ purchases or commissions, but when the traveler asks for a potion to hide horns, he can’t stop his eyes from looking past the shadow the hood casts over their face. 

“Is it possible?” The voice is quiet and calm, a delicate sound that can be missed if you’re not paying attention. “I heard you’re good with these kinds of requests.” 

Tobio puts the rest of the materials in their satchel, thinking of what he’ll need to make that potion. 

“What breed are you?” 

“Kageyama!” Hinata reappears in his field of vision, equally as angry as he was before. “You can’t go asking people that kind of thing!”

Tobio frowns. “It’s part of my job.”

“I don’t really mind…” They say, taking off the hood to reveal a feminine face with pale skin and silky black hair, a pair of red horns standing out from it. “I’m half demon.”

Hinata’s eyes grow big, mouth hanging open. Tobio simply hums, taking in every detail about them. 

They aren’t too big, but aren’t small either, making them invisible would probably be more effective. Demons’ features may be harder to hide due to their magical properties, definitely a task Tobio is really interested in. 

“I can do it, but that would cost--”

“I’ll pay with this,” they say, putting a big red stone on the counter. 

Usually people want to bargain his prices, so Tobio is really careful handling the stone, which fills his hands completely, because it may have some kind of curse if it comes from a demon. He doesn’t find anything weird about it, and is more than happy to accept it. 

“This will cover everything, from the potion to these materials.” Tobio nods, and puts the stone in the coin box.

The demon smiles shyly, taking her stachel and saying she’ll come back in a month. Tobio nods and immediately starts scribbling down what he’ll need. 

Several ideas and combinations cross his mind; moss and ogre mushrooms, mixed with fairy dust or orquidea petals, maybe a drop of liquid sunshine or a rabbit’s foot, and if he’s lucky a phoenix feather--

“What if I help you search for that stuff?” 

Tobio looks up. The customer already left and Hinata is leaning over his list, smile back in place. “Hm?”

“If I help you search for these materials will you lower the price of my potion?” He asks, excited. 

Tobio furrows his brow. Ever since he started in this business it has been easier when he has worked alone, mistakes are few and far between and he’s not limited by others. 

“C’mon, this is practically my job! I escort people, hunt for shoppers… I have experience!”

That’s true… but Hinata is…

Tobio looks at his list. There’re a lot of things he wants to try, and if he takes someone along he can restock some materials he’s been lacking in the meantime…

He sighs deeply before speaking. “Fine, you can come. I’ll charge you 5 gold coins. The emerald and diamond make up for the 5 golds you don’t have.”

Even before Tobio finishes Hinata is grinning from ear to ear. He leaves the jewels on the counter and rushes out as Tobio yells to be here at dawn. A ‘don’t worry’ is the only trace left of him in seconds, his running steps disappearing in the distance outside the shop. 

Those words aren’t enough to stop the doubt crossing Tobio’s mind. 

\--- 

An out of tune whistle comes from outside, and it only stops after several knocks on Tobio’s door. It’s no mystery whom it may be, so Tobio is not amused by Hinata’s bright expression once he lets him in. 

“Good morning!” He chirps, too energetic for how early it is. 

“This way.” Tobio leads him to the kitchen where he set a map marking a couple of the locations they’ll go to. 

It’s hard not to notice the difference between this outfit and his casual clothes. While the green sleeveless shirt and white pants are more of his usual style, the sword and sheath along with his golden crown and cape add something to his general look. Like he’s not just an annoying boy, and is actually a competent knight. 

“Why are you wearing a crown?” Tobio asks, sitting on one of the chairs in his kitchen. 

“It’s not a crown!” Hinata yells, offended. “It’s a lucky circlet.”

“It looks dumb.” Tobio deadpans, looking straight at him.

“You’re dumb,” Hinata says, sticking out his tongue. 

He ignores the comment and starts explaining the places he marked, what they’ll find there and what they have to get. Not used to having to explain, he’s aware he can be a bit harsh answering Hinata’s questions, but the answers are right on the map and Tobio doesn’t have time to deal with idiots that don’t know the difference between north and south. They definitely argue more than they should, and only after the insults run out, the travel begins. 

“Wait, we need to go to the Tanakas’ first.” Tobio makes a detour, barely giving time for Hinata to catch up. 

While Tobio talks with Saeko, the blacksmith, Hinata stays with her brother, an equally loud man but more rough around the edges. 

Saeko smirks at him as she prepares the arrows Tobio requested. “You’re going hunting with Shouyou? That’s surprising.”

Tobio glances at his companion, who’s proudly showing his sword to Saeko’s brother. “Yes, I hope he doesn’t become a hassle. He’s not the brightest knight out there.” 

As if on cue, he drops his sword, knocking over a stack of shields. 

“You’ll be surprised. I’m sure.” Saeko smiles, giving him the arrows. 

“What do you mean?” Tobio packs them in a quiver and gives her the payment. 

“Just keep your eyes open.” It’s the only thing Saeko tells him before waving and returning to the back of the shop. 

\---

Whatever Saeko had in mind definitely wasn’t surprising or good. 

Since they left town, Hinata had scared every moving animal they came across and also _ stepped _ on one of the ingredients Tobio needed for _ his _ dumb potion. He was seconds away from murdering him right there. 

“Kageyamaaa,” Hinata whines. “Talk to me! I already apologized.” 

Frowning harder, Tobio continues walking. 

“How could I know those plants were hard to get?” 

Tobio balls his hands into fists. He’s right, but he _ told _him to stop and the idiot still took another step. 

Breathing deeply, Tobio tries to release his fury.

“You’re too loud.”

“And you’re too grumpy.”

“Dumbass.”

“Idiot...so… where exactly are we going?”

Tobio shoots a glare his way, which makes Hinata flinch and raise his hands in defense. 

“I _ know _it’s to that river to get the weird deer smell thing, but is it a special place? Has an old tale happened there?” 

“Nothing at all as far as I know. It’s just a place where animals hang out.” 

Hinata nods. “And do you know special places? I have never seen cool creatures besides werewolves, and they were good people.”

He doesn’t often remember his past quests, but there are a couple ones interesting enough to share he guesses. 

“I think so? Near Shiratorizawa there’s a fairy nest that can be seen sometimes.”

“Gwah, you have gone so far! I have barely reached the Seijou lands.” Hinata shows the bracelet he has on his wrist. “I got this in one of their villages.”

He goes to comment how common it looks when a noise alerts him. Hinata also seems to have caught it as they take out their weapons at the same time. Tobio points his arrow at a thick bush, and suddenly from the side a horse sticks out his head, eating branches. He breathes, relieved, but the glow of something on his skin makes him freeze. It has a horn. It’s a _ unicorn. _

Tobio pulls the string, preparing his shot to the head, holding his breath.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Hinata whispers, standing in front of him, both hands spread to his side. 

“Get away! Do you know how valuable unicorns are?” Tobio whispers and keeps his arrow in place, eyes darting between the idiot and the unicorn. 

“Yeah! That’s why I won’t let you kill it!” Hinata turns and shouts. “Hey! You!” 

The unicorn snaps its head and immediately disappears behind the bush, the sounds of galloping fading away. 

“Hinata! What the hell?!”

“Wait, my friend only needs a little something from you! We can give you something back in exchange!” Hinata runs to the place the unicorn was seconds ago, but hesitates and drops his sword. “Kageyama hold this for me!” And with that disappears just as fast as the unicorn had. 

Tobio groans and chases them, thoughts of letting him wander alone almost winning him over. He tracks Hinata’s sounds until they stop, and he’s thinking that maybe he fell in a ditch when to his surprise Hinata is standing a few meters away from the magical creature, hand outstretched and offering an apple. 

“He may look mean but he’s not that bad,” Hinata says, smiling calmly. 

They seem to hold each other’s gaze for a few moments, then the unicorn smells the fruit before taking it with its teeth and dropping it on the floor to bite it. Hinata stays still, smile never fading.

When the unicorn finishes eating, it looks up, head held high and one eye fixed on Tobio’s. It huffs and turns to Hinata. 

“No problem.” Hinata jogs to him and says. “You can ask for something from him, but first give him a banana or strawberries.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Tobio grips his head and squeezes, shoving his sword back to him. 

“Whaa? This is what you do to people who try to help?!” Hinata struggles and kicks Tobio on his knee. “Just do as I say, trust me!” 

Tobio looks at the unicorn, who’s looking at them, ears pointing in their direction, head held high. This is such a waste, but if he can get to choose… 

Sighing, Tobio releases Hinata and takes a couple strawberries from his satchel. He approaches slowly, one hand on his dagger for protection and the other showing the fruits.

The unicorn huffs again and steps closer, making Tobio stop and grip his dagger. 

“Easy there! He’s the one that has more to lose than you!” He hears Hinata shout. 

Tobio frowns, but that doesn’t scare the unicorn, who just takes the strawberries and munches them. 

“Now tell him what you want and take it, slowly!” 

“I’m…” Tobio raises an eyebrow, completely taken aback. “--going to take a lock of hair, from your mane?”

The unicorn turns it head, showing its long and shiny mane. Tobio takes his dagger and cuts a good portion of a lock of hair, almost at the root, and backs away slowly, never showing his back to it. 

When Tobio meets with Hinata the unicorn nods and jogs away, disappearing from view in seconds. 

“See? Was that so hard?” Hinata grins, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Do you realize that killing it would have earned you at least 500 pieces of gold?” Tobio takes out a paper bag and puts the hair inside, carefully leaving it with the rest of his resources. 

“Mmh… I think it’s a waste. I don’t need that much money anyway.” Hinata ties his sword back on his belt. “Let’s continue, shall we?”

He doesn’t understand how or why Hinata did all of this. Anyone in their position would have attacked, and not only because it was a rare magical creature. This makes Tobio wonder how many times Hinata had met animals like that and let them go. He’s a really odd guy, that’s for sure. 

Tobio puts his satchel on his shoulder and resumes the path, Hinata following suit, filling the air with more of his questions and stories as if nothing had happened.

They reach the river at dusk. Not a single animal in sight and the quiet stream making the only noticeable noise. There’s not a good place to hide or wait, so both decide to go back a little and settle behind some big boulders. 

Hinata stretches and yawns, lazily leaving his belongings on the grass. “Slow day… what’chu have to eat?” he asks, fishing plain bread from his satchel.

“Couple of fruits.” They had found an apple tree and Tobio took some, knowing his rations wouldn’t be enough for the trip. “And dried fruits too.”

Hinata makes a face, saying “I hate those. They’re so… dry.” 

“Duh, yes, but they last longer and I’m not sure how many days we’ll be out.” 

They stay silent as Tobio wanders collecting wood sticks, darkness slowly surrounding them until they can barely see each other and the cold wind starts biting through their clothes. Then, Tobio decides to start a small fire, enough to light the place and warm them without attracting dangerous animals or worse, bandits. 

“While you’re doing that, I’ll go hunting.” Hinata says, while Tobio searches for his flint. His steps carry him around the camp until they start drifting away.

“What are you going to catch in the dark, idiot? You’re only going to get lost.” Tobio frowns, looking around without finding him. 

“Don’t think so poorly of me, Kageyama-kun. I’m good at this.” Hinata’s voice moves away, and his steps soon disappear completely.

Tobio frowns harder, but continues his work. If the idiot thinks he can do it, that’s fine by him.

By the time he manages to light a fire, he realizes Hinata left most of his stuff here. His sword is lying beside his satchel and even his shoes are abandoned on the ground. Tobio groans, but picks Hinata’s things and leaves them near the fire. 

Sitting and wrapping himself in his cape, he looks at Hinata’s weapon. He’s such an idiot for leaving it here, but he won’t go help him, he should come back by himself. Moron.

As he brews herbs in the heat of the fire, the night gets darker and chillier by the second, and a funny feeling sits in the pit of his stomach. He’s definitely not used to worrying about others, so he’s not sure if what he feels is concern or worry or some other thing. All his life he has thought that if someone is dumb enough to not know how to defend themselves they shouldn’t adventure alone, but Hinata is known for being a reckless dumbass with lots of luck, coming out alive from every dangerous situation… He should be able to come back. He’ll give him until the first rays of sun.

A spark flies from the burning wood and lands on his hand, making Tobio rub it in pain. Looking at the healing lotion he finished a few minutes ago, he applies some before glaring at the little hot pot bubbling on the fire. 

Sighing, he fishes for the unicorn hairs in his satchel. He’s about to add one strand when a shadow looms over his shoulder. Moving on instinct, Tobio pulls the dagger hidden inside his boot out and turns to kick the legs of the figure, making them lose balance so he can leap on them and put the knife to their neck. 

Big brown eyes stare back at him, and Tobio frowns hard when he takes in Hinata’s face, completely confused.

“Never approach me from behind,” he tells him, still over Hinata, knife pressed dangerously close to his artery. 

“Geez, fine,” Hinata says, taking Tobio’s hand and distancing the knife from his throat. “Noted, but there’s no one here beside you and me. I made sure of it.” 

Narrowing his eyes, Tobio doesn’t say anything back, only gets up and goes back to his place near the fire. He’s a bit taken aback by the lack of fear or panic on Hinata’s part.

“Now that you finished your murder attempt, I’ll show you what I got!” Hinata crawls and sits at Tobio’s side, showing off two dead rabbits by their ears. “Rabbit meat tastes amazing roasted!” 

Tobio has to admit that is really impressive, but what’s more incredible is that he didn’t hear Hinata until he was right behind him. This is the first time someone snuck up on him and surprised him. He’s distracted, which is bad if he wants to finish this job quickly. 

While Tobio continues working on the demon’s potion, Hinata starts skinning the rabbits, cheerfully talking about his sister and the time she tried to keep a boar as a pet.

The next days are spent in a similar way. They collect materials for the shop, hunt down animals, and steadily, Tobio starts feeling Hinata’s presence grow less… annoying. He’s not as nosy as Tobio thought he could be, letting him keep his silence despite not being silent himself. Without realizing it, he’s the one dropping personal stories from time to time.

“So your parents are mercenaries?” Hinata asks after Tobio comments how he learned from his mom to shoot arrows and dad to prepare potions and other salves because of their line of work. 

“Sort of." A little white lie can't hurt. "They don’t like staying in one place for long, so they choose to continue traveling the world,” he explains as he detaches an impaled bird he previously killed from a tree trunk. “I didn’t like it as much, so the first time an opportunity to settle down presented itself I took it.”

“Don’t you feel lonely in the shop all by yourself?” 

Tobio turns and raises an eyebrow. He never thought about it. “Not really, they visit sometimes, and there’s always a certain someone bothering me, so I’m fine.”

“Awww, so you enjoy my visits!” Hinata smiles, walking past Tobio.

He can’t be sure, but he thinks he sees a hint of sadness in that smile. Tobio usually isn’t the one to question others about their feelings, so he hesitates before asking. 

“And you?” Hinata stops as he hears the question. “Do you feel lonely… adventuring all by yourself?” Hinata turns, looking at the ground. 

“Sometimes I guess… but this time I’m with you, and it has been fun!” Hinata states, voice joyful as he resumes his walk.

Tobio lets it go. He won’t pressure him if he doesn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t know what to do in case he did anyway, but he kinda gets it. Even without telling him directly, filling in the holes of what he doesn’t say is easy when you hear what he actually says. His mom didn’t want him to be a knight, but he had to if he wanted to find his dad who got lost traveling the Unknown Lands, so he left his home without her knowing. His sister wanted to be a witch, and probably has managed get over the basics by the dedication Hinata tells him she had. She was the only one that knew he was leaving the house and he’s worried that he put a bigger burden on her shoulders. Tobio concluded that he misses them a lot, but his own stubbornness doesn’t let him go back empty handed, though he’s not sure how Hinata's search is going. He never talks about that part, not that he has asked, but everyone has their own secrets.

He can’t relate to the sadness of having his family away, though; sure his parents are always away, but he still receives letters and other interesting things. He may understand the feeling of loneliness despite being surrounded by people. Not that it has really bothered him. Until now.

Hinata makes him feel that trusting someone isn’t all that bad. 

Organizing the handful of herbs they found earlier, Tobio glances at Hinata, who is currently sleeping. What will happen when they part ways? Hinata will get his potion and chase the person he likes, and he’ll stay in his shop, the same as ever, even if not completely. 

He frowns and packs everything in his satchel before throwing a log onto the cooling fire. 

As dense as he sometimes can be, he’s not dumb enough to ignore the pressure in his chest when he thinks about that.

A different kind of pressure, one that changes the air, makes him look into the dark forest, interrupting his train of thought. He feels some sort of creature walking in the distance, far enough for them to be safe here, but strong enough to _ know _it must be something worth chasing. 

A brief glance at Hinata is all it takes for Tobio to take his bow and quiver. They’re in a rather safe area, so he should be fine. Besides it’ll only take a few minutes to track down whatever is out there and come back. He won’t even realize he’s gone.

Stepping carefully, Tobio makes his way through the forest, eyes focused ahead but senses alert in every direction. The creature feels closer, and bigger. The rotten smell and gloom in the air surrounding him makes the thoughts of going back louder in his head. 

By the time he accepts this won't be as easy as he thought, it's too late. A _ really _big troll crushes a tree with his fists, catching sight of him and attacking immediately. Cursing, Tobio jumps back, shooting an arrow that only manages to get stuck in one of its arms. 

The troll growls loudly as he rushes for another punch. Tobio manages to shoot two more arrows that hit his chest but fall to the ground before having to run to the side and behind the creature. He evades that blow, but when he tries to get away a big and clammy hand takes him by the waist and throws him against the ground. All the air exits his lungs and he’s left breathless and only able to close his eyes as another punch goes directly for his head, but… nothing happens.

Right before he can open his eyes a shriek comes from the troll as a slash resounds and a blinding white light illuminates the area. 

It doesn’t do a lot of damage if the growl that follows is any indication, but it sure makes it angrier.

Tobio manages to glance at his savior in the dimming light, and to his big surprise, he sees Hinata dodging the troll’s attack and immediately stabbing its leg. He recognizes him despite the hazy aura he’s somehow expelling, which makes his figure hard to focus on. His eyes shine in the darkness too, showing an intensity and color he hasn’t seen before. 

“Kageyama!” Hinata yells, coming to him as the troll shouts in the distance and rearranges itself. “Are you okay?!” 

His figure gains consistency, haziness leading to a steady body. Tobio has to blink several times to adjust his eyes, mostly because of Hinata’s… power? He looks at his general direction, the mysterious light he expelled disappearing in seconds, and pushes him back just in time to evade another of the troll’s punches.

“Idiot! Don’t space out!” He says, pulling out one of his daggers from his belt since his bow disappeared when he got struck against the ground and jumping forward, stabbing the troll in what he hopes is its eye. 

“_ You _ were spacing out!” Can be heard among the creature’s wail, just before Hinata digs his sword somewhere, making a disgusting sound as he pulls the blade out of the troll.

The troll collapses onto the ground, a last shout escaping its mouth while blood pours from it and its wound.

Panting, both stare at the life being drained from the troll’s body, limbs falling to each of their sides, exhausted. 

“What happened to you?!” Hinata is the first to speak as the adrenaline runs out. “When I woke up you weren’t beside me!” 

“Absolutely nothing happened. I went to search for something and I found a troll,” Tobio counters, walking away from Hinata as his eyes adjust to the darkness again to look for his bow and arrows.

“You can’t just wander off in the middle of the night! We’re so far away from the camp. What if I didn’t find you in time?!” Hinata chases after him.

Tobio huffs in annoyance. “I would probably be dead. Is that what you want to hear?” He frowns as he steps on one of his arrows, breaking it. 

“I don’t know!” Hinata huffs too, and Tobio feels his hand on his arm. “Here is your bow, the string broke.”

He shoves his weapon against his chest, making Tobio stare in disbelief. He can’t understand how Hinata does that. 

“How you keep doing that?” 

“Doing what?”

“The-- I don’t know...how you see so well in the dark? How did you find me if I was so far away from where we settled? Why… were you blurry while fighting? And that strange light?” He has to have some kind of ability, that’s for sure. Tobio has to look away from Hinata’s eyes, which show more emotion that Tobio can handle right now. 

Hinata turns his back, putting his sword back in its sheath. “Let’s go back, alright? I’ll try to tell you after we treat your wounds. Your nose is bleeding by the way.”

That makes Tobio move his hand to his face, where he now notices the wet warmth over his upper lip. He cleans it with his sleeve and frowns, following Hinata closely and trying to figure out what the hell is so hard to explain. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 of Kagehina Week is about 'supernatural' so I decided it was best to finish this story than to start another one.  
I don't have a beta this time, so sorry if there's any mistakes!

The light of their camp reappears between the trees, and relief washes through Tobio’s body. Suddenly, he feels exhausted and his abdomen throbs in pain. 

He endures it until they can sit beside the warm fire. 

“I can see you’re in pain. Stay there and I’ll patch you up,” Hinata tells him, searching in his satchel and pulling out bandages and a little bottle with healing lotion. 

For once Tobio can’t complain. He’s beat. 

Laying over the grass, he looks at Hinata, growing impatient for his explanation. 

“So, what was all that?” He asks, pulling up his shirt as Hinata gestures him to do.

Hinata evades his gaze, focusing in the wound probably. He fetches his water bottle.

“I’m not exactly sure why I can do that kind of stuff. It has happened since I was little.” He lets the water run over Tobio’s abdomen. “At first only happened when I felt someone I cared about was in danger. No one could tell my parents what it was, but a witch once told them it could be my body releasing magic or something and that I could be some kind of fairy, or at least had been blessed by one .”

Tobio hisses as Hinata applies the lotion. He doesn’t want to see what kind of wound he has there. 

“Then those… weird moments where my body would shine and eyes glow started being more frequent. The rest of the village started fearing our family, so we visited the same witch from before, and she gave me the circlet, saying I needed to start using the magic I expelled in small ways if I wanted to be able to have a normal life.” 

Tobio sits, letting Hinata surround his wounds with bandages. “So the circlet absorbs your… magic?”

“Yeah, I can stop wearing it for a day or two, but soon the glowing stuff starts again. Usually I go to the forest and give some to some tree or animal or whatever I think it needs it, or use it at night to hunt for food or thiefs, but if I want I can release it all at once. That’s what I did earlier.”

That has sense, even if he had never hear of a human having that amount of magic, this world is weird sometimes. It would explain why the unicorn didn’t fear him.

Tobio thinks in what Saeko said before they left her shop. “Have you told someone else about this? I think a lot of people would be interested in hiring you, especially warlocks.” 

Hinata finishes tying the bandage and moves back, admiring his work. “I don’t want people to know about it. I want to live like any other person, see the world, live many adventures, but if a warlock or witch knew, they could take advantage of me and retain me in one place.” He smiles, and takes Tobio’s arm next. 

They stay in silence as Hinata applies lotion to his arms and bandages them. The moon is high in the sky, when he finishes.

“I won’t tell anyone either,” Tobio says when Hinata mentions he should apply some lotion in his face. 

“I know you won’t, that’s why I told you.” Hinata leans on the grass and closes his eyes. “Let’s sleep now. We have another big day tomorrow.” 

Tobio stares at him. In seconds he seems to nod off. Maybe using his magic takes a bigger toll on his body too. 

Leaning back too, he wonders how the person Hinata is interested will react to this. Love potions do part of the work, enchanting the target to feel sudden interest, but he’s alone after that. If that person’s morals or dreams or tastes aren’t the same, it would never convince them to stay with him. 

The next morning, Hinata leads them to the place where the troll died as per Tobio’s insistence of collecting any materials that can be used. Hinata scrunched his nose as Tobio cuts nails, teeth and moss from the body, commenting how disgusting all that was given the state of the body. Tobio tells him he’s used to this by now, but they should quick in case the smell attracts other trolls or who knows what. 

Searching on his map, Tobio points to the next area, a huge wildflower bed, and they’re on their way again. The flowers and leaves they have to collect there are really easy task to get, and he teases Hinata to keep his messy feet away from them. Hinata actually laughs and tells him he has a sense of humor after all. 

The next few nights Tobio teaches Hinata how to use his magic to make the healing lotion even stronger. He had wanted to try this since he read it in a book, but it still took a few tries until Hinata could put the right amount in the boiling liquid without making it explode. 

“Look Kageyama! It’s glowing green like you told me it would!” He cheers when the liquid shines under the sun.

Tobio can’t deny to himself he looks pretty when he grins excitedly. 

“At last. I was sure you would make me run out of herbs and pots.” He pats his head, feeling the soft locks. Hinata blushes. 

Both of them are surprised by the other’s reaction, and after staring at each other, move a few meters apart, faces flushing an intense red color. 

The upgraded lotion makes Tobio’s wounds heal a lot faster and he’s glad there’s just a faint bruise in his abdomen after only one week. He’s glad, because he has grown tired of picking herbs and wildberries.

“We can fight the ogre now,” he tells Hinata over lunch the same day he thinks it’s not necessary to use bandages anymore. 

Hinata chokes with his drink. “W-What?! You almost die because of a troll and now you want to kill an ogre?!

“It was dark at night, and I’m already better. Beside we don’t have to kill it. You will distract it, and I’ll sneak into its lair and get a few mushrooms.”

“Do you know how hard it is to fight  _ those  _ things?” He groans.

“Yeah, but you don’t know how to collect the mushrooms, so that’s why you get the ogre.” 

Despite Hinata’s complains, they look at Tobio’s map and make a plan based on the surrounding of the place he heard one lived. It shouldn’t be too hard.

It takes them a day to get to the river, and only half a day to find the wide bridge that crossed it. It’s rusty and old, broken planks hanging everywhere, handrail almost completely missing. Travelers must have stopped using it long ago.

Tobio signals Hinata to go while he hides behind a tree, and begrudgingly he nods. 

Looking back once, Hinata walks cautiously towards the bridge, a hand holding his sword, yelling, “Ogre! I know you live here, come out!”

The ogre doesn’t need any other kind of invitation. It appears from below the bridge, dragging its feet and clutching a dry tree trunk. 

“Fight me!” Hinata shouts, pointing his sword to it. 

Tobio had only seen him this serious the night they fought the troll, which means this is the warrior everyone trusts in battle. 

The ogre roars loudly and charges against him. Hinata takes a few steps back and then jumps over it, just as the ogre blows his wooden weapon at him, then runs away from the river and calls for it. 

When it goes after him, giving its back to the bridge, Tobio exits his hideout and runs to the bridge, sliding over the side of the river and going below it. The smells that hits him it’s horrible. The decomposing bodies of animals and probably humans pilling nn a dry side of the river not a big surprise to discover. Tobio covers his nose and starts looking for the mushrooms. As disgusting as this is, this type of fungus only grows in places where ogres live, mostly because of the food they eat. 

A loud thump followed by a growl reaches him, and he searches faster, moving skulls and pieces of clothes aside. The sound of a tree cracking while Hinata shouts something is next, and makes Tobio have seconds thoughts about the mushrooms.

It’s not until he sees a slimy brown blob near a corner that he realizes why he can’t find them. Pulling out his dagger and a bottle, he slices the slime’s core before it sees him, and gathers the dripping gel as it dies. Below it, six weird shaped mushrooms appear. Relieved, he cuts the cap of all of them and puts them inside a leather bag.

A big splash makes him turn and sees Hinata in the river, standing up as the ogre runs after him. 

Rushing to the opposite way, he climbs the side of the river and runs through the cracking bridge, yelling for Hinata to follow him.

“Finally! Took you long enough!” Hinata replies, and goes after him. “It was a good fight, thank you!” he yells looking back at the ogre. 

They can hear it behind them, but after a few minutes of getting inside the forest, its noises disappear. When they’re sure it didn’t follow them, they stop to take a breath. 

“I thought you had go without me,” Hinata breathes out, sitting on the ground.

“I couldn’t find the mushrooms, but it was because of a slime hiding them,” Tobio sits beside him.

Both stay there, chests rising and falling heavily. Once it’s not hard to breathe anymore, Tobio takes a look at Hinata. He’s sweating just as much as him, but his shirt is ripped in several places, and there’s an ugly gash in his right forearm.

“Let me see your arm,” Tobio says, positioning himself in front of Hinata. 

His arm has several splinters, and there’s a big one in the gash. Tobio warns him this is going to hurt and starts pulling them out and applying lotion, to which Hinata hisses. This looks worse than what he had in his abdomen, so he makes sure to be careful when cleaning and covering it.

“Ouch, thank you… When the ogre broke the tree I only could protect me with my arm.” Hinata says when he finishes.

Tobio looks at the sky. “It’ll be night soon, we need to find a clear area, I want to make liquid sunshine.” 

Hinata gasps as questions start pouring from his mouth, curious about that kind of material. 

Right before the sun lights stop lighting the forest, they arrive at a more or less empty plot. It looked like a big group camped here some time ago and cleared the ground from bushes and trees. A stupid decision if you ask Tobio, because that makes you more vulnerable to being found. It works for him now though. 

They settle at the edge of the clearing, making a small fire and preparing for dinner. Hinata goes to hunt something, while Tobio puts the slime remains in a pot over the fire, making sure it’s warm but doesn’t reach its boiling point. 

Hinata brings back a squirrel this time, and it doesn’t take a lot of time to the prepared and roasted. 

“How the liquid sunshine stuff is going?,” he asks, biting his portion. 

“It’s a slow process, so it’ll be ready when the sun goes out,” Tobio explains between bites. “I’ll stay all night awake watching the pot.”

Hinata nods. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

Tobio considers this offer. It would be harder to fall asleep, if he has someone to talk with…

“If you want to.” 

They finish eating and get comfortable over the grass, looking over the stars. Hinata starts remembering the time he was little and camped with his sister outside their house, mentioning vain details like the food they took out and the stories they invented, but as the night progresses his words become slurred. He’s saying something about a dog when he stops and falls silent. 

Tobio turns and sees him sleeping over his side. He stares for a second and then sits, staring at the fire. 

“Tch, you ended falling asleep anyway dumbass,” he mutters. “I guess you deserve it after that fight.”

He throws some sticks to the fire and stirs the slime, by now it’s losing its brown color and the consistency is a lot less sticky. Putting the lid over the pot, he leans back again. His dad would be proud of the quality this sunshine will have. 

The calm night makes him think in a few more days everything will be like this again. He and his thoughts alone, sometimes with others, but mostly alone. He turns to his side, looking Hinata’s face. Would Hinata still go see him after he gets the person he likes? He doesn’t know if he wants to meet them or not. 

Closing his eyes for a moment, he wonders how hard it’ll be to go back to how things were before all this.

\----

A hand shakes him awake. “Kageyama! The sun is coming out!” 

Startled, Tobio stands up, feeling a little dizzy by the sudden movement. 

“I can’t believe  _ you _ fell asleep,” Hinata jokes from his spot. 

Tobio touches the pot, thinking it’s cold despite the hot burning wood, but moves his hand away as soon as his finger tries to lift the lid.

“I woke up right before the last branches went out. I guessed I only had to keep it hot, so I didn’t move it.” Hinata explains. 

As the dark gives space for the light, Tobio pulls out his cape and take the lid. The liquid is transparent and steam comes out of it. He reaches for a bottle and pours the liquid inside before sealing it with a cork, then approaches a large tree and starts climbing it.

“Do you need any help?” Hinata asks despite not looking worried in the slightest. He’s even eating an apple now.

Tobio climbs the fastest he can, and as he nears the top, he lifts the bottle and lets the first rays of the morning touch it. Slowly, the liquid starts gaining color, a faint shine, a mild orange, and then it glows like the sun in the middle of the day. Tobio covers it with his cape and climbs down. 

“That was awesome Kageyama!” Hinata shouts, holding an apple for him. “You’re really good at this!” 

“Of course, it’s my job.” Tobio can’t stop smiling. This is the first time it has glowed this much, it’ll make a lot of commission easier in the future. 

“Hey! I have never seen you smile like this!” Hinata smiles too. 

Tobio takes the apple he’s offering and ignores his comment. Taking a bite, he finishes covering the bottle with his cape, tying a strong knot. 

Hinata teases him a bit more that morning, calling himself his savior for keeping his slime warm and waking him up at the right time. Tobio rolls his eyes and thanks him only once despite Hinata insistence to say it again. 

A couple days later they arrive at the foot of a cliff. Hinata’s eyes open big at the size of it, and for the first time since they meet he looks afraid.

“Do we really need to climb this?” He asks, putting his hand above his eyes to look better the top.

“No, don’t you remember anything I told you before we started all this?” Tobio frowns and hits the back of his head. 

“That was a long time ago! I can’t remember that many details.” Hinata rubs the spot Tobio hit.

“See that flower over the surface of the cliff?” Tobio points to a small purple flower several meters above the ground, the stem goes into a hole in the stone. “Go up there and pull as many buds as you find from the hole.”

“Uh?! Why I have to be the one to do it?” Hinata looks bewildered. 

“Because you wanted a discount, now go up there!” Tobio hits him again, but Hinata evades him. 

“You’re so mean to me,” Hinata mutters and throws his satchel and sword to the ground before starting to climb the cliff. “If I fall and die, I’ll haunt your ass for the rest of eternity.” 

Tobio crosses his arms and watches him move up, carefully putting his hands and feet over the sloppy rocks. 

When Hinata reaches the hole, he peeks inside and then puts his arm inside. “I think I got them!” 

“Drop them! I’ll catch them!” Tobio positions himself below Hinata and catches the green buds as Hinata releases them.

“I think there’s another thing inside!” Hinata says, introducing his arm further. “Wait, it’s-” He pulls it out as if he had burned. “Oh, hello there… I’m sorry, I-”

Tobio looks at him confused, but then something crushes against Hinata’s face. The force of the attack, makes Hinata lose his grip. 

Tobio panics and raises his arms, doing his best to catch him, but Hinata comes down with all the force of gravity and both are knocked over the ground. 

“I hate you…” Hinata whines. He’s over Tobio, hands covering his face. 

“The feeling is mutual.” Tobio has his arms over Hinata’s middle, and as his senses come back, he pushes him away. “What was that anyway?”

“A bat attacked me! Her babies were in the cave and I touched them.” Hinata rolls and looks over. “She was really mad.”

Tobio sits slowly, back throbbing. “Don’t go sticking your arm in weird places next time.”

He collects the likely unharmed buds and puts them in another bag inside his satchel. 

“ _ You  _ told me to stick my arm in a weird place!” Hinata stands and goes for his things. 

“But I didn’t tell you to stick it so far!” Tobio starts walking away from the cliff.

“Where are we headed now?” Hinata asks when he catches up with him.

“To the town. I have all the stuff I need.”

“Wh-What? Really?!” Hinata sounds surprised.

“Yeah, we’ll get there in two or three days. Quest complete.”

Tobio doesn’t let the disappointment sink in, he knew this moment would come sooner or later.

\---

Tobio turns the sign of his shop to open and goes behind the counter.

In seconds shoppers start arriving, commenting how glad they are he came back. He doesn’t pay them much attention, his thoughts in another completely different topic. 

Since they had come back, Hinata hadn’t come around the shop. The love potion he requested sat waiting for its owner below the counter and it hurt Tobio a little bit every time his eyes looked over it. 

The days before they came back, Hinata was unusually silent, but also something else out of the ordinary happened. The three days it took them to come back, Tobio would wake up with Hinata by his side, his hand holding his own. It was embarrassing, but Hinata never addressed it and that only made him think it was only a coincidence, that it was similar to the story he told him about sleeping with his sister so she wouldn’t be scared. But what would Hinata be scared about? Or there was another big reason for it? 

Tobio didn’t want to have false hopes, so he left Hinata do whatever he wanted. Now, it seems what he wanted was to stay far from Tobio.

By midday the business has slowed down, and Tobio sits in his stool to rest for a bit. He’s looking at the love potion again when a knock calls his attention. It’s not on the shop door, because anyone would just come in. Another knock and he thinks on his house door. 

Wary, he takes his dagger and goes to the back, crossing his living room slowly and looking over the window. 

It’s Hinata.

“What are you doing here?” Tobio opens the door and asks, more coldly than he intended. “The shop is over there.” He points to the street. 

“I know, I know. I just…” He seems to bit the inside of his cheek. “It’ll be less embarrassing if I do it here.” As he says this, his face turns red.

“What-”

Tobio doesn’t get to finish, Hinata closes the distance between them and pushes his lips against Tobio’s. 

“I like you Kageyama, and I decided it would be bad if I forced you into liking me... “ Hinata steps back, eyes staring the floor.

Tobio is stunned, he can’t believe what he heard. He thought Hinata may like him, but his absence made him question that. His mind is a mess, so he does the first thing that comes to it. 

“Are you an idiot?!” Tobio takes Hinata’s head and squishes it. 

“Wait, wait, that hurts!” Hinata grabs his hand but can’t make him release him. 

“Love potions don’t even work like that, and it wouldn’t have an effect on me anyway, because I already like you idiot.”

“How should I know- Wait-” Hinata stops struggling and stares. “You like me?” 

Tobio blushes the deepest red and nods. He stops squishing and moves his hand to Hinata’s shoulder before leaning down. He kisses Hinata this time. 

“Are you saying I spend the last 4 days thinking how to tell you I liked you in vain?!” Hinata groans and covers his face.

“Yes, because you’re an idiot.” Tobio turns around, remembering he still has a shop to attend to.

“But you like this idiot, right?” Hinata follows after him, closing the door behind him.

Yes, he likes idiot Hinata a lot, but for now won’t give him the joy to hear it again so soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the end was kinda dissapointed ^^; maybe one day I'll write something else for this au and add more fluff!  
You can talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/sweetferret).


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